The dark Riddle of Fate its Cruelty
by MysteriousSaiyaGirl
Summary: Unexpectedly Vegeta's previously unknown sister shows up in the lives of the Z-gang. What's with this girl? Will the mystery surrounding her ever clarify itself, and how are the recent tragedies connected to her? R&R please
1. Introduction

Disclaimer: Akira Toriyama and J.R.R. Tolkien own most of the characters that will show up in this story. I do own Nindy, Raven, Regar, Gigita and some others.

Author's note: The name Nindy is not my real name but my nickname which I often use for stories I write, so I'm not putting myself in here, only my alter-ego. =P

Constructive criticism is always welcome, if I take too much time until we finally land with the characters you're familiar with just say so.

**Nindy Evenstar**

Name: Nindy Evenstar

Race: 50% Saiyan, 29% Human & 21% Elf

Sex: Female

Hair-color: Raven black

Eye-color: Turquoise

Skin-color: Asian (Japanese, Chinese...)

Striking things about how she looks:

-Pointy ears, like all Elves have

-A tail, she's got that from her Saiyan side

Place of birth: Lothlorien, where all Elves who hadn't left Earth in search for another world had settled. The Elves that live there are the last ones on Earth.

Looks: She has a Japanese fighting-style-shirt, colored turquoise & purple, and pants with the same colors. These clothes are really comfy and she loves them.

Also, she wears Saiyan-boots and always carries her Elfish sword on her back.

In her hair she has a tail like the one Legolas has in Lord of the Rings (which truly has happened in this story), which binds her long hair to the back.

The only memory she has of her parents, is a medallion...

Character:

If she wants you to back off or just wants to be alone she can get very catty to you, she's afraid of showing herself, and doesn't trust people easily.

Even though that she has trouble with trusting people, she's mostly very kind and helpful, and very timid.

She's very introvert, secretive & mysterious. That's why people mostly see her as a very complicated person, which she is. She always hides it when she's in pain and just goes on, and she always tries not to cry because she sees that as a sign of weakness, she always wants to be strong. All her emotions stay inside her, she doesn't allow them to come out, she doesn't want people to know her, she doesn't want to be weak.

Like is said before, she's very timid, always looking the cat out of the tree.

She has an amazingly strong will, which she needs to learn how to control.

When you get to know her you'll find out she's a very bright/smart child, and really curious, eager to learn. She can be very funny and loves fooling around or laughing about nothing in particular. Staring at people also seems to be very funny.

If she sees you as a true, or even close-friend, she will never let you down when you need help, if she thinks of real friendship she always sees it as everlasting.

History of character:

When Planet Vegeta wasn't destroyed yet and Prince Vegeta was just a five-year-old, there was made a prophecy. The mother of the five-year-old, who got killed by her own husband, made that prophecy. Vegeta's father killed her, just because he refused to believe such a thing could possibly happen.

Prince Vegeta saw his mother getting killed by his father and had heard the prophecy... He wasn't allowed to cry, he couldn't risk his father seeing that, so he kept it all inside. He didn't ever want to think of what had happened again, so he locked the prophecy in his head so that he couldn't remember it anymore, together with the memories of his mother. He'll only remember when he sees the proof that the prophecy became truth... This was the prophecy:

"The race of Saiyans will almost fully be exterminated by the hands of Lord Frieza. But, all Saiyans who will die with their home-planet will return to life when Humans, Elves and at least two of the surviving Saiyans live at the same planet without war. The killed Saiyans will reappear at the planet where most of the Elves live and no Humans at all.

There will be a war between those Saiyans & Elves. But, one of the Saiyans and one of the Elves will fall in love with each other. The Elf will be male and also have Human-blood, since he will be related to Arwen Evenstar and Aragorn.

The female Saiyan will be..................me. We will have a daughter who will have mysterious powers. The male Elf won't live to see the day his daughter will be born, since the Saiyans will already have killed him for mating with me. The Saiyans who are at that planet will die again as soon as the girl is born.

What happens then, only time can tell..."

Vegeta's mother, Gigita, was in a sort of trance when she made the prophecy, when she finished it she didn't remember a single word of it. King Vegeta will never know this; he killed her after she finished the prophecy.

Nindy will be born on the 12th of December; exactly 6 months after Son Pan will be born. The name of Nindy's father is Raven Evenstar.

Where we really begin this story, is in the war between Saiyans & Elves, when Nindy isn't born yet...


	2. The war of Fate

Disclaimer: Akira Toriyama and J.R.R. Tolkien own most of the characters that will show up in this story. I do own Nindy, Raven, Regar, Gigita and some others.

Author's note: The name Nindy is not my real name but my nickname which I often use for stories I write, so I'm not putting myself in here, only my alter-ego. =P

Constructive criticism is always welcome; if I take too much time until we finally land with the characters you're familiar with just say so. I realize that the beginning can be quite annoying but it's, alas, necessary for the rest of the story.

**The war of fate**

"Today we will start taking over the eastern country. Do you guys think that you can handle those stupid Elves in the East?"

"Of course we can, King Vegeta," Regar answered.

"No, we mustn't, I've seen that if we start fighting the eastern country we all will suddenly die!" Bardock said worrying.

"Stop saying these weird things that you can see the future and such, if you don't shut up now I will kill you! C'mon, let's all attack now!"

And with these words King Vegeta flew to the east, with all other Saiyans following him.

In the mean time, in Mystery Falls, in the Enchanted Woods of the east...

"According to the books Lothlorien must've been beautiful..."

Starmien: "They say Lothlorien still looks exactly like it used to. The rumors say that one group of Elves kept living on Earth, and settled in Lothlorien, because they loved that place too much to leave. Too bad my parents hate the Earth because of the Humans, they'd never let me go there... How about your parents Raven?"

"My parents say I may do as I desire, so I will definitely go to Lothlorien, even if I can just see it once. Do you remember that the Greenleaf family went back to Earth 5 years ago? Your parents thought it was ridiculous, I wanted to come along but needed to finish my study of Magic & Elfish first. Next year I'll go to Lothlorien as well, but first we need to take care of these Saiyans, whom do they think they are trying to take over our planet?! We won't fail like the Elves in the North; we have to protect our planet!"

"Yes, I remember, and your right, we have to beat those Saiyans! I thought all Saiyans were exterminated, I suppose we were wrong, or maybe fate just had to take a strange twist for something to happen..."

"Starmien, Raven, you guys need to come & join up, the Saiyans are trying to take over the eastern country starting with our village. We need your help with the magic barrier!" the village-elder called.

They ran to the other villagers and joined in the circle, and then they started saying a barrier spell in Elfish, asking all natural forces to protect them.

"We can't get through their barrier. Let's put our camp in this forest and keep us hidden for a while. We'll attack this village at night in about 5 days, but we're not going to be lazy those days, there will be trained extremely hard! Understood?!"

"Yes, King Vegeta," all Saiyans answered.

That night...

****I hate this useless war, Gigita thought to herself.

Why do they always need to take over everything and everyone they see? How childlike, they always need to be the boss! And then to think we don't even know what Elves are like, I've heard they're really noble and kind-hearted creatures, with great self-control. My mother used to tell me bedtime stories about Elves; she told me that if your heart is as honest and pure as the one of an Elf, you couldn't be happier with yourself. I want to get to know those Elves, I've fantasized so much about them when I was a kid, I don't want to be part of this stupid war and be friends with them...

Gigita sneaked out of the camp and went to the village.

She saw that most of the Elves were sitting around a campfire; talking, eating, singing, laughing, and just having fun.

If they see me then they'll kick me out anyway, they of course think all Saiyans are bad, which is not surprising with the behavior of most of us.

She walked into the forest, in the opposite direction of the camp.

An elf was sitting against a tree at the riverside. He was just staring in the water, without making a single move or noise. So, totally relaxed...

"Excuse me," Gigita said nervously.

"What is it? You're a Saiyan aren't you? Where are all the other Saiyans, why are you here all on your own? Did they ban you or something? Do you have the same goal as the others? If so; I will have to kill you for the sake of my village."

"I'm a Saiyan, but I don't mean to harm anyone. I don't agree with this stupid war, it's ridiculous! I don't understand how we got on this planet anyway, we were dead..."

"Yes, I heard that your planet was destroyed. My friend and I thought it might just is a strange twist of fate to make something happen, I wonder what... My name's Raven, Raven Evenstar, what's your name?"

"Gigita. I used to be the wife of the king, my son wasn't on the planet when it was destroyed, he's still alive, I just know it.

The king killed me before the planet was destroyed, though I hardly remember what happened, just that he killed me for some reason..."

"That's odd. Maybe it has something to do with the strange twist of fate Starmien and I were talking about earlier this day, before the Saiyans tried to attack our village. Maybe you had foreseen something; can you remember anything in that direction?"

"No, the only Saiyan who can foresee things is Bardock; he had foreseen that Lord Frieza destroyed our planet for example. I can't remember anything of what happened before he murdered me."

"That's it! My mother told me a story about a prophecy once; the person who made the prophecy was in sort of a trance and couldn't remember a thing!

That also was the person who was most connected to what was going to happen, so I suppose it's something like that."

"Might be..."

There was silence for a while; they were just looking at the water, staring in it, listening to it...

"Wanna go for a swim?" Raven suddenly asked.

"At night? Isn't the water really cold?"

Raven smiled at Gigita, took off his clothes and walked into the water.

"You're gonna come or what?" he asked with a playful smile playing on his lips.

Gigita grinned, undressed, and came after him.

Raven & Gigita secretly met up with each other every night.

They fell in love, and in the 4th night, they made love to one another.

Gigita told Raven that the Saiyans would be attacking next night.

Next day all the Elves of Mystery Falls came together in a meeting that Raven had organized.

Village-elder: "Well Raven, you seemed eager to speak to all of us about something, so I'd say, let's get this meeting started and say what's on your mind."

"Right. Before I start talking to all of you, I must ask you not to interrupt me and state your opinion after I finished. If there is anyone who doesn't agree with that, please say so now."

Nobody spoke a single word.

"Okay then. Of course you all know about the war we're in with those Saiyans.

Everybody thought they died with their planet.

Starmien and I spoke about it a couple of days ago, and we thought it might be a strange twist of fate to make something, good or bad, happen.

Something has happened which made me think that that conclusion is very true.

I've met one of the Saiyans, a female, who has no intentions of taking over our planet or hurting us, she told me she's been fantasizing about us Elves ever since she was little, and she just wants to be friends. The craziest thing happened.

We fell in love with each other. Last night we had, err; contact, and well, we don't know if she's pregnant yet but we'll test that later on, but anyway, she has informed me that the Saiyans will try to attack us again this night so, now that we know this we can prepare ourselves. Right now she's with the Saiyans, so she doesn't attract any attention to herself. She also has told me that they indeed have been dead, Lord Frieza destroyed them with their planet, only she died before that, she got killed by her own husband, though she doesn't know why. My conclusion is that she made a prophecy in some kind of a trance, and that the king, her husband, didn't like what was going to happen according to her prophecy, and killed her for betrayal."

There was silence for a moment. Then Raven's mother spoke up:

"I suggest that Raven will bring this female Saiyan to our village when it's safe to do so, so that we can test her on pregnancy.

All others will go prepare themselves for the attack. Is this okay?"

"It seems fine with me, this will be how it goes then," said the village-elder.

Twenty minutes later...

Raven brought Gigita in.

"Is your mother allowed to know the name of your love?"

Raven blushed and mumbled: "Her name's Gigita."

"You have a beautiful name."

"Thank you. How exactly do pregnancy tests go with the Elves?"

"Don't worry darling, just go sit in that chair over there and I'll tell you what to do.

I'll get what's needed for the test."

Gigita obeyed.

"Are you nervous?" Raven asked.

"Just a little bit," Gigita answered smiling faintly.

Raven's mother came back in the room with a glass filled with some purple drink.

"Just drink this, and if you really are pregnant you'll get purple spots on your face in 15 minutes. The spots will disappear in 5 minutes, so you don't have to worry about that," she said while she gave Gigita the glass.

Gigita drank it. It's not even gross., she thought to herself.

"Now I'd like to know some more about you, since you are my son's girlfriend and I'm quite curious. Do you want to tell anything?"

"Sure." And so Gigita told about her life, and while talking, the 15 minutes went by really fast...

"Gigita?" "What is it?" "Your face, your, your really pregnant, we're gonna have a baby!!"

They all were really happy, but they did wonder about how they were going to keep this hidden from the Saiyans...

"Let's not worry about that now, we should think of a name, any suggestions?" Raven's mother asked.

"Well, I've been thinking about fate a lot lately, all Saiyans including me suddenly back from death, what if our child, our relationship has something to do with fate? What if our child being born IS fate?!?"

"My god you have a point!!! But if that is true and the Saiyans, maybe even including you, all will disappear after our child is born, we'll be having to accept it, because our child must be very special in that case and it's just fate, though our child will be very special to me fate or not. But maybe we should call our kid fate in Elfish, Nin."

"It's a good idea Raven, but this fate isn't clear, it's rather mysterious, so I suggest we will call her 'mysterious fate' in Elfish. What do you think about that?"

"Gigita, I think that's the best idea ever!! So, the name of our child will be: Nindy. Nindy Evenstar."

And so, it was decided...

After the pregnancy test and the decision of a name Gigita went straight back to the Saiyan camp, since she told the Saiyans that she was going to train by herself for about 30 minutes which long had past.

"Ah, there you are Gigita. What took you so long? Your late, we're just about to discuss our attacking strategy for tonight."

"My apologies Vegeta, I forgot the time when training."

"Apologies accepted. Now then, let the meeting begin..."

That night...

"This is going to be the best surprise attack I have ever planned," King Vegeta said with a satisfied smirk on his face.

"Are you guys ready for the challenge?!"

"Hah, I doubt this even can be called a challenge since the Elves will have no idea what's happening to them!! Let's make them pay for the embarrassment they brought to us last time!!" Regar said, laughing satanically.

"Alright then, let's go for it and let them feel our Saiyan pride, causing havoc and destruction and the downfall of their miserable village!"


	3. Melancholy Silence

Disclaimer: Akira Toriyama and J.R.R. Tolkien own most of the characters that will show up in this story. I do own Nindy, Raven, Regar, Gigita and some others.

Author's note: The name Nindy is not my real name but my nickname which I often use for stories I write, so I'm not putting myself in here, only my alter-ego. =P

Constructive criticism is always welcome; if I take too much time until we finally land with the characters you're familiar with just say so. I realize that the beginning can be quite annoying but it's, alas, necessary for the rest of the story.

**Melancholy Silence**

"Our surprise-attack failed, it didn't seem to be much of a surprise. This means we have a traitor amidst us. And I regret to believe you are it, Gigita, you were the only one that wasn't with the others yesterday. I am very disappointed in you, my wife for the love of God! But it occurred to me also that I was the one who killed you back at our own planet. I cannot recall why but this most definitely affirms my suspicions. You can choose: or you tell me exactly what's going on right now, or you will simply cease to breathe after a day of torture. So, which one do you pick?"

"Neither. Either way I will be forced to talk and then executed. And I am not your wife. Farewell," Gigita responded, heading into dark clouds immediately.

"Follow her!" King Vegeta commanded furiously.

At the village...

"Someone's coming," Starmien called.

"It's Gigita," Raven replied happily.

With a swift landing Gigita appeared right in front of Raven, her breathing heavy.

"Is something the matter?"

"Oh my God Raven, I'm so sorry! They found out about me betraying them, I think they've followed me here, please forgive me!"

"You'd better believe we followed you. Now what's the deal here Gigita?"

"Don't you dare laying a hand on her, she's carrying my baby and you won't get either of them, you hear me?!"

"You mated with my possession? The ignorance! You'll regret this!" King Vegeta shouted, lunging at Raven, his sword pointing right at his heart.

As the steel clashed through and sprayed blood all around Starmien jumped right into action. He grabbed Gigita and ran to the space-ship at top-speed. Gigita struggled and screamed the name of her loved one, tears of anger and sadness streaming down her cheeks. Starmien called a spell to slow down their followers, making a wall of fire suddenly shoot out of the ground. He threw Gigita into the ship and then jumped in himself. The ship activated immediately as Starmien whispered some Elfish words. They ascended into the skies, leaving the Saiyans far behind them.

Gigita quivered and sobbed because of her lost love all journey toward Lothlorien. Starmien attempted to lighten her mood several times without success. Weeks had passed when they finally landed in the woods of the Elf-civilization of Earth.

Miles away a Saiyan prince believed to feel the ki of a full-blooded Saiyan, but shrugged of the possibility instantly.

I hope everyone of the village is all right. There's at least one good thing: my parents will be furious if they hear that I've went to Earth, Starmien pondered, smiling faintly.

When they entered Lothlorien most of the Elves were having trouble with the female Saiyan, but when Starmien told them about the recent events they bended and allowed Gigita to stay in the village until she had given birth to little Nindy, but they weren't exactly to be called eager to keep Nindy there, after all, the kid WAS empoisoned with Saiyan-blood. Without Gigita's knowledge of it Starmien bribed them into taking Nindy, mirroring the illusion of them willingly taking the kid to her.

"Look Starmien, the Elves gave me a locket. Now all I have to do is put a picture of me and Raven in here. But I don't have a picture of him, do you?"

"Well yes, but I couldn't take it with me, I'm sorry..."

She heaved a sigh.

"Oh well, I suppose I could just attempt to draw him..."

Months of agony, doomed musing, regret and deep sorrow passed by swiftly. While Saiyans at a planet far, far away were vanishing in thin air, Gigita was holding a little baby girl in her arms, rocking her back and forth, claiming to love her and feeding her with mother milk. When she was about to kiss her forehead, she too, disappeared.

"I believe it's time for me to return to my planet," Starmien whispered, taking the weeping baby from the moist ground and giving her to Mrs. Greenleaf.

"Have a safe journey," she said to him sympathetically.

"I will," he smiled, "Take care of little Nindy Evenstar here, for Raven's sake."

And with those words Starmien moved toward the space-ship and left Earth to hold the curse and blessing of Nindy her mystery.

Baby Nindy stirred in her peaceful sleep, not knowing what cruelty is waiting for her, not knowing that it is the first and last peaceful sleep she'll ever have.

"She's thriving well, don't you think so too?"

"Most definitely! And the experiments have some most interesting results, fabulous really, incredibly awesome. But we absolutely have to continue binding her powers."

"Yes we do indeed. Is it really wise to let her attend school like all the other kids? This way she's developing too much strength I'm afraid."

"No, we truly must allow her to attend school; otherwise she might grow so angry that binding her powers will no longer be a solution. I've experienced it before; she reacts most severely when she feels that injustice is done to her. Anyhow, I find the combination of her humanity with Elven- and Saiyan powers quite intriguing."

"It is, not to mention dangerous, lethal even. Her power grows with her anger, it grows when she gets severely hurt, and she has developed inner-conflicts thanks to the contradiction of her Saiyan- and Elven-side. Great nobleness and self-control thanks to our race, and all the reverse from the disgraceful ancestors of her mother."

"Hasn't some of the coldness humanity possesses slipped into us my dear Findecáno Elanessë? Our actions toward the subject are quite cruel while the Elves are well-known for their purity, kindness and nobleness; hasn't all that become corrupted?"

"We are still that way in general Amras, your worries are unfounded, she has evil Saiyan-blood flowing through her veins so she cannot be trusted, Saiyans can never change and turn to the good side, ever."

"But the subject, Nindy, or as Tári calls her, Enelya, doesn't even reach the level of 30% Saiyan-blood, doesn't that mean anything to you? She is almost six years old now and no harm has come to us yet."

"We must endeavor to keep her under our control, no matter how many Saiyan-blood she bears and no matter the consequences. It is right," came the harsh reply.

Findecáno turned and walked away, leaving Amras with his concerns.

An exasperated sigh escaped Amras' lips. I'll go see Tári and Gildor, he decided.

In the mean time...

"How dare you cower, you're pathetic! Too weak to handle some battering, only because your powers are binded? Sheesh. Come here and undergo your punishment of battering and penetration with dignity," Erestor Tasartir leered in pleasure.

"Punishment for what? What did I do wrong?" a little voice squeakily asked.

"For asking stupid questions like this one!"

And the ritual of humiliation, pain and fear began once again in the basement of the home of Greenleaf. Somehow most of the Elves had indeed become corrupted. Was it their hatred for Saiyans that drove them to such insanity, or was there something else going on? No-one who would know...

At the place of Tári & Gildor...

"Enelya always has been an extremely quiet girl, and I can just feel the melancholy blanketing her, no matter the distance parting us. Gildor and I both agree that these horrors simply must stop. Will you help us Amras?"

"Well, I'm not sure; she does have rather dangerous powers... And despite the cruelty that is done to her I believe it's for the best to keep binding her powers and do at least some experiments on her, it's necessary for science and fairly interesting."

"Amras, you do realize you're talking about a living being with feelings right now are you? It is not necessary for science to abuse an innocent. The fact that it's interesting is not important here. By binding her powers she doesn't even get the slightest chance to learn how to control them, making her far more dangerous to us than as she would be if we didn't do so."

"But even so honey, I have been musing a lot about it lately and do agree with you, only I fear that she will turn against us after all the horrors some of us have put her through, which of course is logic, but it could mean our end," Gildor said concerned.

An awkward silence then filled the room.

12:00 AM, the 12th day of the 12th month...

With a caressing breeze Nindy blew the candle she had found and lit out.

"Happy birthday," she hummed to herself silently.

After a while she stood up and moved towards a wooden closet. She opened it and stayed to observe all her rags and tatters for a while. Then she budged to its floor of which she'd discovered it to be a double floor. The Greenleafs didn't even know that. She opened it and took her self-made clothes out, including the sword that the blacksmith of the village, Gildor, secretly had made for her, and her beloved medallion. Cautiously she got dressed, grabbed her blood-red backpack out the floor and closed it off with precision. The medallion and some food she made the night before slid in. The Elfish sword clicked stuck around her waist, her backpack protecting its intricate beauty. She sneaked out of the building, as light as a feather, and flew off to more hopeful woods.


	4. Adopting Darkness

Disclaimer: Akira Toriyama and J.R.R. Tolkien own most of the characters that will show up in this story. I do own Nindy, Raven, Regar, Gigita and some others.

Author's notes: Thanks to all reviewers, it's really motivating to read your thoughts on the story. Anyhow, in this chapter the Dragonball Z characters will finally come into the picture. ï

Constructive criticism is always welcome.

**Adopting Darkness**

"Daddy, can I go play in the woods now, please?"

"Okay then, but be back within the hour!"

"I will! Bye daddy."

"Bye Pan."

Pan skipped into the forest happily, looking around with gleeful eyes. A squirrel with its children crossed the worn path rapidly. Little Pan kneeled to watch them. She stretched her hand to lift one of the tiny squirrels. The other ones abruptly stopped in movement.

"It's okay, I won't hurt any of you," she muttered, slightly taken aback.

The squirrels suddenly went to sit on Pan's legs and the little one she was holding grasped its tongue past her cheek. She laughed heartily and stroked its tiny back. Mother-squirrel apparently wanted to travel further and gestured to the others to follow. The baby-squirrel hopped out of Pan's hands and the family moved out of sight. A warm smile appeared on the little girl's face and she rose into the sky.

"I can flyyyyyyy!" she shouted happily as she flew with widened arms, the wind caressing her fragile form with meek coldness. She stopped moving forward but kept floating in thin air, lying on her energy as if on her cozy bed. Her eyes closed and she yawned.

Unexpectedly she felt another ki near her presence, a strange one. It was coming from beneath her somewhere. Her dark eyes wandered down to meet a bright turquoise stare.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Nindy. What's your name?"

"It's Pan."

"How come you can fly?"

"My grandpa taught me how."

Pan's eyes widened as Nindy rose to meet her height.

"Oh my God, you can fly too! Who taught you?"

"I taught myself."

"Cool," Pan beamed.

Nindy smiled and swung her tail.

"You have a tail?! Will you come with me to my place? My dad used to have one; I dare to bet he'll find you having one as well very interesting!"

"Sure."

And so the two girls flew toward the Son-house, amazement meeting them as they arrived.

"Dad, mom, this is Nindy. I just met her, she can fly too and she has a real tail, cool huh?" Pan babbled excitedly.

Gohan and Videl scrutinized the girl their daughter had brought to them, surprise covering their faces.

"Well, hi Nindy," Gohan began, "I'm Gohan and this here is my wife, Videl. Where do you and your parents live?"

"The woods are my home, the wolves my relatives. I have no parents," Nindy responded, not granting her trust to Gohan, refusing to give the little information her medallion and vague past memories gave her.

"Have you ever had an orphanage as a home then?"

"No sir, I've lived in the woods here for all my life."

"How come you understand our language then?" Gohan said, sneering slightly.

"I wasn't completely isolated from civilization," she snarled back in a catty way.

"Gohan, what's with you so suddenly?" Videl snapped, "You mustn't be so forward, she's just a kid!"

"Yeah you're right, I'm sorry honey, I honestly don't know what got into me."

Videl heaved a sigh.

"It's okay... Anyway, why don't you girls come in, dinner is almost ready."

"You're inviting me over for dinner? Really?" Nindy asked in disbelief.

"Of course I am!" called the amused, but adored, reply.

"Thank you! Unless... You're not mocking me right?" came a scared voice.

"No, I'm truly not. There's no reason to be so afraid and insecure, we mean no harm, honestly. You can trust us," Videl smiled sweetly.

"Okay... Sorry for bothering you with my distrust," Nindy mumbled underneath her breath with downcast eyes.

Videl cast her one more smile and then turned to the kitchen.

Nindy followed Pan and Gohan to the living room and sat back next to Pan at the white leather couch. The young half-Saiyan settled himself in his comforting chair that matched the color and substance of the couch meticulously and he eased himself in front of the two pre-teen girls.

"Hey Nindy, have you by any chance ever heard of a race called the Saiyans?"

"Yes I have, my mother was a full-blood Saiyan, or so I was told."

Both father and daughter winced in surprise at those words.

"Who told you?" Gohan asked incredulously.

"The people who took me and whom I ran away from."

"Your ears are pointy," Pan-chan suddenly remarked, "It looks cool, sorta like Dende's and Piccolo's only not green," she laughed.

"Everyone in the village where I was obliged to be has them."

"What are those people then?" Gohan asked confused.

"Even if I told you, you wouldn't believe me. So it's in vain to do so. I'm sorry."

"How old are you actually? About nine I presume?" Gohan changed the subject.

The guess was weighed by both her height, the grave look her face carried and her way of talking. If it wasn't for her small, extremely slim figure he'd have guessed twelve.

"Actually, I'm six."

Once again Nindy managed to elicit deep surprise.

"Cool, I'm also six," Pan replied happily, "When's your birthday?"

"The 12th of December."

"My birthday is also on the 12th, only of June."

"Nice, that means we differ exactly half a year," Nindy smiled.

"I'm older!" Pan grinned.

"You wouldn't think so if you didn't know any better though," Gohan muttered underneath his breath, suppressing a grin.

"What were you saying dad?" came a curious tone.

"Never mind, it's not important."

"Tell me now!" Pan teased stubbornly.

Father and daughter romped for a bit, making frolic laughter fill the living room.

"Dinner's ready!"

Gohan got to the dinner-table first, followed by Nindy and then Pan.

"Say Gohan, why don't you tell Nindy about the Saiyan-families here?" Videl asked in an attempt to make conversation.

"Okay, just a sec, I want to finish my fifth plate first!"

Videl giggled at her husband's reaction.

When Gohan swallowed his last bite, he began.

"There are two Saiyan-families here on Earth, ours is one of them.

I'm a half-Saiyan; my dad, Goku, is a full blood. Then there is his rival for life, Vegeta, also a full blood, who is married to Bulma Briefs, leader of Capsule Corporation and a very good friend of ours.

Pan here has 25 percent Saiyan-blood; she's a pretty tough fighter. Bra, a friend of hers and the youngest child of Bulma and Vegeta, has 50 percent Saiyan-blood, but she chose not to train. Trunks is Bra her older brother, he's also a half-Saiyan.

And last but not least there is Goten, my younger brother and Pan's uncle. So, that's about it with the Saiyans here. We form a team, save the planet and the universe and such, the usual stuff."

Nindy smiled at him and then Gohan returned to his meal, victimizing his sixth plate.

The next day...

"Let's proceed to Dende's lookout now that you've met all of us, 'kay Nin?"

"Okay," Nindy replied softly.

And so the entire Z-group rose, higher and higher, until finally reaching the place that surveyed all the events on Earth. Dende, Piccolo and Mr. Popo were already waiting for their arrival.

"Hey you guys, what's the deal; is something wrong?" Dende asked worriedly.

"Well, not necessarily," Goku replied, "But we just wanted you to meet Nindy here and we were wondering if you perhaps could tell us a little more about her history."

A grumpy Vegeta pushed Nindy forward agitatedly; Nindy on the other hand was quite uptight and felt rather timid.

"Hi Nindy," Dende began friendly, "I'm Dende, as you've heard, and I have taken the task of guarding the Earth upon me, Kami had that task before me but he fused with Piccolo, who's right next to me here. We're Namekians, from the planet Namek. But anyway I'm sure Gohan and the others have told you quite a lot already. Anyway I'm guessing you're partly Elfish, considering your ears?" he smiled.

"Yes I am," she responded, feeling somewhat more comfortable.

"You – you're kidding us right? I mean, everyone knows that there's no such thing as Elves, they're like, fairy-tale creatures, but so not real!" Trunks beamed incredulously.

Dende laughed heartily.

"Sorry you guys, they so are. Only the population of them on Earth is tremendously small. I heard that most of them have left ages ago, in search for a better planet."

"Oh my God... So, is this Nindy-girl half-Saiyan and half-Elf then?"

"I have a mind and mouth of my own thank you," Nindy snapped, "But I'm 29 Human anyway, mister know-all."

"Geez, watch your temper!" Trunks snarled back.

"Ehm, you guys?" Goku meddled, "We really don't have time for arguments right now, it's not really why we came here in the first place so... Mind quitting?" Goku asked smiling sheepishly, his hands rubbing the back of his head nervously.

"Whatever," Trunks replied, turning his head away from Nindy.

He's so arrogant, she thought to herself.

All the others were watching the situation either humored or astonished.

"Well, anyway," Videl broke the silence, "Back at our place Nindy told that both her parents had died, so that includes her Saiyan-mother. Would that mean we have nothing to worry about?"

"I suppose so," Goten smiled.

"Not so soon you pathetic Earthlings, this girl could have planned a conspiracy to lure all of us, she could've lied about her parents' death, she could have been brainwashed!"

"Oh please Vegeta, get real," Bulma rolled her eyes.

The Saiyan-prince was about to rage at his wife but Bra shot him a puppy-dog-eyes look which forced him to bottle it up. That daughter of his...

"Anyhow, Videl and I were talking for a bit last night, and Nindy, we were just wondering, would you like to stay with us, as a new home and new family?"

"You really mean it?"

"Of course I do squirt!" Gohan laughed.

A huge grin placed itself on Nindy's face.

"Thank you!"

Videl and Gohan smiled at her and Pan began to bounce around the lookout screaming "YAY!", swiftly making laughter erupt from several mouths.

Back at home...

Nindy silently sat in her new room, at her new bed. She lied her head down on the silken sheets, calmly breathing its blossom-like scent that filled her nostrils with sweetness. Unexpectedly a totally different smell came, assaulting her nostrils deeply. And it wasn't only a smell... She tasted it with her fragile tongue, a metallic stench which somehow felt disgusting and made her enter her ecstasy at the same time.

It was the stain of blood. As in trance she swallowed, and it filled her mouth once again, and again, and again.

The front door slammed closed.

"Daddy, mommy, I'm bleeding, it just started out of nothing!"

Worried parents ran toward their daughter. Blood was covering a deep wound in her right fore-arm, but yet it didn't seem to be seeping out.

"We'll bandage it for you, don't worry honey, you're gonna be just fine."

"Did you fall or something," Gohan asked concerned.

"I already told you, it started out of nothing!"

"That's impossible sweetie. You must have blacked out or something."

"I did not!"

"It's okay honey, you're just still a bit upset. Now come here and let me dab the wound for a bit."


	5. Tainted

Disclaimer: Akira Toriyama and J.R.R. Tolkien own most of the characters that will show up in this story. I do own Nindy, Raven, Regar, Gigita and some others.

Author's notes: Thanks to all reviewers, it's really motivating to read your thoughts on the story. I changed July into June, thanks for noticing Blue Star. It will turn T/P in either this chapter or the next. Starting from this chapter their ages will be:

Trunks: 26

Pan: 15

Nindy: 14

Bra: 16

Goten: 25

Marron: 20

As for distinction: hikikomori is a Japanese term for absolute social withdrawal.

Constructive criticism is always welcome.

Oh by the way, my sincere apologies for the lateness!! I'm lacking inspiration, that's also as for a reason why this chapter turned out so short, sorry!! I'll try to do better next time, I hope you like despite the shortness. :)

**Tainted**

"Have you heard yet?"

"Heard what?"

"Nindy has started to exhibit concerning signs of hikikomori!"

"Oh my God Bulma, are you serious?"

"Yes #18, I'm serious. Although she's still attending school she rarely talks, as soon as she gets home she locks herself in her room. Videl barely gets to see her."

"That's so sad... It must be really rough on them..."

"Yeah, it is..."

Meanwhile...

With blank eyes concentrated on the wall in front of her Nindy sat, emotionless. Her room had changed quite a bit since she moved in. Its furnishing was dark and Gothic. Nindy was Gothic. She was tall and slim, and her eyes... They were a mystery. They were gifted with the ability to communicate, warn, gesture, beckon, seduce.

Her voice was a mere, gentle breeze, cutting through thin air. All her actions were desperate attempts to keep control over life. Endured, her mind concentrated completely on the game of taking energy that she was playing, in silence, in secrecy.

Through absolute concentration she extended her being into the universe, searching to find the deep connection that she had wrought. She descended into the link, initiating a deeper contact with her brother's energy body. Vegeta; she felt attracted to him but couldn't find why. Neither was acquainted with their connection in bloodline. The brooding girl continued to gaze at his energy body, visualizing a clear image of him in her head. She retained a vague awareness of Vegeta's surroundings as she still could see shards of her room and body; she was at two places at a time. As she hovered above her brother she began to drain him, breathing his energy into her, a slight sensation of blood filling her spirit.

All of a sudden Vegeta found himself thinking of Nindy for no apparent reason. He believed to even catch her sight when looking through the corner of his eye. The proud Saiyan shrugged off the thought. I suppose I've been training in here too long, I'm also feeling a bit tired, I should grab a bite..., he assured himself.

In a glimpse of terror Nindy shot back into her still body, quivering. When calmness returned to her she gazed through her room, her eyes resting on dark artifacts here and there. A decorative dagger, supposedly sharpened, lay centered at her desk.

Pentagrams, candles, incense, spread all over. Gloomy poems and paintings, some wrote in or colored with suspicious-looking scarlet. A computer, watched over by an iron bat. Walls: black and purple. Complete contradiction with Pan's pink/punky room. Yet they still maintained good friends, apart from Nindy's current isolation.

Back at Capsule Corp...

"C'mon Bra, admit it, you like Jason from the 11th grade, it's written all over you!"

"No Pan, stop it, that's absolute rubbish, I can't stand that guy!"

"Then what's that mail I found you were planning on sending our wise Marron, asking if it's a bad thing, being attracted to arrogance?" Pan winked laughing.

A huge blush crept on her best friend's cheeks.

"Ha-ha, I was ri-hight, Bra heart Jason, yay!"

At that embarrassing (for Bra) moment, Trunks decided to drop in.

"What's this I hear; my little sister likes a jerk?" he asked playfully.

"Keep your big mouth shut 'bro, and I'm not your damned LITTLE sister, understood?!"

"Geez, watch your temper..."

"Just beat it already!"

"Erm – you guys – ya mind stop fighting?"

"Whatever," Bra replied, turning her head away.

"Sorry about her behavior," Trunks started towards Pan.

"I'm warning you - !"

"And mine, supposedly," he responded sheepishly, smiling faintly.

Bra just brusquely rolled her eyes and Pan erupted into giggles.

"Hey Pan, you like to train and such right?"

"Yeah, why do you ask?"

"Well I was just wondering if you felt like training with me sometime, then I could teach you some new techniques and such and it'd just be fun, or so I thought."

The blue-haired half-Saiyan turned to the conversation again, experiencing a mix between surprise, confusing and interest.

"Erm yeah, sure, that'd be cool. When do you wanna start?"

"How about next Saturday, 8:00 PM, here?"

"Sounds fine by me."

"Great," came a happy beam, "So eh, see you then!"

And Trunks left the room.

Bra suddenly burst into laughter. "You and my brother, I just can't believe what fate is trying to do now!" she chuckled.

"Why hey, it's not like I'm not surprised... But hey, it's just training, and he's sweet, well, nice I mean, and besides, it's not like age matters, not that I'm interested or anything, argh I'm babbling nonsense!" came Pan her struggled words.

"Awww, it's okay to like him sweetie, but just to be safe, make sure not to tell anyone over eighteen, can't be trusted those days, not even Marron."

"So this is just between us?"

"Definitely!" Bra smiled.


End file.
